Tear Stained Wrapping Paper
by hoenheim-of-light51
Summary: A Christmas Fulmetal Alchemist Fanfic spoiler warning if you havent seen all the series and the movie!


**Tear Stained Wrapping Paper**

**A Christmas Fullmetal Alchemist Fanfic**

It was late Christmas Eve in the Elric home. The younger brother lay sprawled on the couch sleeping in front of the fire, a newspaper over his face, a blanket around him. The front door opened and shut quickly letting a short but powerful blast of freezing air into the cozy home. The younger brother didn't stir.

The older brother stepped inside and instantly felt his cheeks begin to thaw. In his arms he held a package that weighed him down more then he had anticipated. He sat it on a small nearby table and spoke out loud into the silence, "Hey, Alphonse! I'm home!" Curious about the silence he walked forward a few paces and questioned, "Al?" Cautiously he stepped further into the house. "Where is he?" he thought. He was about to speak out his brothers name again when he came upon the figure on the couch.

"So he's sleeping, huh?" he thought to himself as an idea crossed his mind and a smirk moved across his face. He removed his right glove to feel the hand hidden within it. He both flinched and grinned; it was frigid to the touch. Carefully he removed the paper from his brother's face and laid his nearly frozen hand upon his cheek.

The younger brother's eyes shot open and he bolted up on the couch, "Ow that's freezing!" The burst of energy wore off quickly. Still half asleep he wiped his eyes with his hand. "Hey Ed," he said absentmindedly. "Where have you been?" Al rubbed his cheek where the icy metal had touched his skin.

Quite proud of himself, Ed chuckled as he removed his coat, "Around." he said, and without another word he stepped over to the staircase and slung his coat over the handrail, watched it slide down the diagonal board only to be stopped by the post at the bottom.

Al frowned and stretched out his legs, "Aw c'mon Ed. There's no need to be so cryptic."

Ed said nothing and scrutinized the wrinkles and folds in his coat.

"Fine, fine, whatever," he pouted. But his act was ruined by the small chuckle that escaped his lips. Al stood up. The blanket fell down his legs and came to rest with a small shuffle at his feet.

"I'm gonna go upstairs and change," said Ed as he began to make his way towards the stairs.

"I'll make us some tea," Al replied as he stretched his arms and flexed his fingers towards the ceiling. He turned towards Ed and in one quick swipe he took back his paper. With a sly smile he spun on his heel and made his way into the kitchen

As soon as Ed was confident that Al was out of sight he turned silently back towards the table by the door. He scooped up the package while swallowing a grunt. Then he began his ascent up the staircase. He lifted his leg and pushed open the door to his room. Gingerly he placed the box on the foot of his bed and sighed, glad to get the weight off his arms. Without warning his face suddenly broke into a wide smile and he was overcome with a small laughing fit. For the first time in a long while he felt pure, unbridled joy and excitement. He couldn't shake his happiness, he knew that there was much to worry about, much to consume his mind and force all other thoughts away. Edward's laughter stopped and he grinned. He repeated his old mantra aloud, "You can't move forward if you keep regretting the past." His smile never wavered as he lifted the lid off his gift. After staring at its contents for a moment he replaced the lid and went to the closet to get his pajamas.

Al sighed, "He's always so vague. Ah well," He tossed the paper onto the table in the middle of the kitchen, then he rummaged through a drawer until he found the teapot. He turned on the stove and filled the pot with water. He glanced about to make sure Ed wasn't around and then crept soundlessly back into the living room. The untouched coffee table stood between him and the fireplace. He sat down on the still-warm couch and lifted up a hinged top he had installed while Ed was away. Smiling he carefully lifted the package out of the hollowed out inside he'd also installed while Edward was gone. He had done it just for this occasion. He lifted up one corner of the wrapping and looked through the dim light to see what many hours of labor had produced. He had to bite his lip to keep himself quiet. With one swift, silent motion he placed the parcel back into its temporary resting spot and closed the lid. Al stood up and grunted, "Guess I'll go change too." Skipping lightly, joyfully, he headed upstairs.

Edward stood in front of the open closet. He smiled as he wrapped one final bow around his gift. A knock sounded at the door, "Brother" sounded Al's muffled voice, "can I come in?" Edward jumped slightly. "He can't come in now!" he thought. Thinking quickly he yanked Al's clothes off their hangars and tossed them on Al's bed as he cried, "Yeah!"

Al stepped in the room and saw his pajamas on his bed. His top was lying messily across his pillow and his pants were about to fall off the foot of the bed. He turned to see Edward crouching in front of the closet murmuring to himself. Confused Al spoke to him, "Brother, what are you doing?" He took a step towards him.

Ed tensed immediately at the sound and pushed the box to the back of the closet. He stood and spoke, "Just looking for my slippers" He whirled around to face Al with a big smile on his face.

Al blinked, confused, but he just shrugged. He walked to his bed, jumping one step so he could catch his falling pants. He grabbed the ends of his shirt and threw it off unsure of where it would land. He swallowed, "Brother, you don't believe in God, right"

Ed smiled confusedly, "Yeah…"

"Why then, exactly, are we taking part in this holiday if we have nothing to do with it?"

Ed sighed and began to button his shirt, "What do you mean?"

"Well take you for example, I see you reciting 'Merry Christmas' to almost every person, you're the one who insisted on buying a tree…even if it was a small one, and I've heard you humming Christmas songs many times on your way to work."

Ed pondered for a few moments and the room was completely silent, save for the shuffling of clothes and the two brothers' quiet breathing. Finally Edward spoke, "To be completely honest, I'm not too sure of that myself. I'm well aware that although we may be a part of this world not all of its customs and groups need us in them. I'm also aware that this is a religious holiday and I've learned from experience not to mess with other people's religion." He coughed at a memory. "But this world doesn't seem to be as cut and dry as we might think. People like us, who don't believe in God, found another meaning in this occasion." He sat on the foot of his bed and let his body fall back onto the bed. "They see it not as a matter of whether you're religious or not, but as a time to look at all you've got and be thankful for it, just to look at you're little piece of 'something' and be glad that you have anything at all. This pertains to us more than you think Al."

He sat up and brought his knees up slightly. Sighing he went on, "We know what it's like to lose it all, to feel like you have nothing left, to feel helpless. I don't just mean our house, our clothes, those things don't truly matter. What really matters are the non-material things we have. We said for years that we were all we had. Well now that's true and it really is just you and me. All that time we tried to do everything on our own because we were convinced that we were alone. When I think back to that time all I can see is our foolishness. I know those things won't come back, and I hate myself for being so blind until it was too late.

Edward shut his eyes to keep in the tears but kept on speaking, "When I turned my back on you on the wings of that rocket I was sure I'd never see you again. I knew that this would be our final meeting and no power, not technology or alchemy, would be able to reverse our separation this time. But when I heard your voice amongst the piles of discarded armor, I was immeasurably happy and I knew I never wanted to have to leave you again. This time, this season, this Holiday just makes me feel so thankful that I'm here with you." Edward opened his eyes and looked over at his brother. He smiled warmly as he gazed into the tear filled eyes of his younger brother, Alphonse Elric.

Silence filled the air again, but this time each brother had a small, loving smile across his face. Al was the first one to speak, "I-I'll go check the tea." He said quietly and then he left the room. The only sound heard was the dull click of the shutting door.

Edward walked to the closet and removed the box from its hiding place. Still grinning he picked it up and made his way down the stairs.

Alphonse grabbed two bags of tea from the pantry and placed each one in a cup. Ed's cup was red and Al's was black. On one side of each cup was a skillfully painted symbol which was the color of the others cup. The symbol was of a serpent crucified on a cross. Al left the cups and removed his gift from inside the table, he placed it behind their small tree in the corner and could only hope Ed wouldn't see it. He went back to the kitchen and retrieved the hot cups as well as a small bowl of sugar cubes.

Ed came down the stairs and saw Al crouched by the coffee table in the living room. He took his box and put it behind the couch. Simple, yes, but he would be presenting it soon anyway. Al turned to look at him and he just smiled in return.

Alphonse stood up and then sat down on one side of the couch. He gestured with his head to the other side, silently asking his brother to sit down. Neither spoke as Edward sat down.

The two brothers grabbed their cups and in accidental unison said, "Cheers!" and took small sips of their tea, only to realize each had forgotten the sugar. They allowed the strong liquid to pass down their throats, but not long after each took three cubes of sugar and placed them in their tea.

_Slurp_

"Hey, brother can we open our presents now?" Al asked, his eyes twinkling.

_Slurp_

Ed smiled a sly smile, "We should probably wait until tomorrow. That's when we're supposed to open them." He looked at Al's pleading face, "Of course," he said, "we never really did what we were supposed to do now did we?"

Al smiled wide and carefully set down his cup. He jumped up as soon as he was sure his cup was secure and bounded over to the tree. He grabbed the package carefully and walked slowly back.

While his brother jumped around, Ed merely set down his cup and reached his arm behind the couch. With a lot of effort he lifted the box with one hand and placed it in his lap.

Al sat down carefully and placed his gift on the table.

"Hey Al, you mind if I go first?" Ed asked. Alphonse shook his head and looked at him anxiously. He grabbed the box from the bottom and put it into Al's outstretched arms.

Al exhaled quickly, surprised by the weight. "This is heavy brother!" he said. Ed just chuckled. Alphonse examined the package. The wrapping was done in a classic fashion; red paper and green ribbon. He thought nothing of the holes that dotted the sides and the top. He'd decided long ago not to question Ed more than necessary. He tore off the bow and shredded the wrapping paper and came to the plain brown box. The box vibrated slightly in his hands and he couldn't contain himself anymore he threw open the box lid and gasped. Inside the box was a black kitten. The kitten turned to look up at the figure above her and let out a small meow. Alphonse stared awe struck at the furry mass within the box. Slowly he raised his head to look at this brother. He smiled, "Edward…I…I…thank you! I…I can't believe…thank you!"

Edward laughed, "Well now that we have our own place I don't suppose a cat is such a bad idea do you?"

Alphonse said nothing but he smiled at his brother and lifted the small kitten out of the box. He placed the box on the floor beside him and held the little feline in his arms. "Open yours brother!"

Edward placed his hands carefully on the sides of the rectangular package on the table. He held it in front of him and began taking off the blue and gold paper. He smiled as he removed the paper cover from his present. When the last of the paper was off he blinked at the gift. It was a painting, but of what he wasn't sure. And then he got a clear view of the portrait shown on the canvas. It was a house, a house on a hill, in a town called Risembool. The painting was of the house of their childhood friend Winry Rockbell. He recognized it all, from the knots in the trees to the faded wooden sign reading 'Rockbell Automail'. There was even a dog snoozing quietly on the front porch.

Al stroked the head of the kitten in his arms and spoke quietly to his brother, "It took a while and a lot of work brother. Do you…" his voice trailed off.

Edward slowly lowered the painting and smiled. He looked into his younger brothers eyes, but he didn't speak.

Al looked back into Edwards eyes and said nothing. He didn't question Ed's silence. His eyes were speaking louder than any voice ever could.

After a minute of silence Ed spoke, "So, what are you gonna name her?"

Al didn't even need to think about it, "Her name's Ame"

Edward cocked his head slightly to on side and raised his eyebrows, "Ame?"

Al look at the ground as he spoke, his eyes filled with sadness, "It's short for…Amestris."

Neither one spoke for a while after that. The brothers sat on the couch deep in thought, when Ed stood up. He stretched his arms to the ceiling; he heard a pop in his left elbow and the quiet click of metal grazing metal in his right.

Al looked up at him, still dwelling on the sad thoughts of long ago. Edward smiled warmly and looked down at his younger brother

Al smiled and tears welled up in his eyes. He noticed the same thing was happening to his brother. He placed Ame on the cushion and stood as well. The two brothers wrapped their arms around each other in a warm embrace. They stood there for a long while, each one silently crying into the other's shoulder.

Edward muttered quietly through his tears, "Merry Christmas Alphonse."

Alphonse tightened his grasp, "Merry Christmas Edward."


End file.
